


Zack, No!

by Yenneffer



Series: Zack Week 2020 [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angeal and Sephiroth got puppy privileges, Animal Transformation, Characters being dumb, Cloud is done with this shit and elopes with the dog in the sequel, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Kunsel - mentioned, Kunsel is the best bro, LITERALLY, M/M, Mentor & Student, Mentor-Student Growing Pains, Puppy Zack Fair, That’s it the degeneration doesn’t get him bc his student’s antics beat it to him, There is little logic in here, Wutai forces probably confused as they watch from the trees, Zack Fair & Cloud Strife Friendship, Zack Fair Being Zack Fair, Zack Fair and the Study on How to Lose Your Clothes, Zack Week 2020, Zack the therapy dog, Zack “Challenge Accepted” Fair, Zack’s scatterbrain gives Angeal premature grey hair, Zack’s zackness fascinates Sephiroth, by playing with your dogs in the jungle, how can this thing with four limbs exist, probably released around the same time as Remake Part 2, random Shinra troopers fighting to cuddle Zack the therapy dog, that’s how you fail your missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:15:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yenneffer/pseuds/Yenneffer
Summary: Zack, Yes!Or: Angeal makes a wish. Unbeknownst to him, the wishing well in Wutai is a real deal – and they happened to have made camp right next to it. Now his pupil has four paws and a tail, and is even less interested in following Angeal’s orders than before.Written for Zack Week 2020 Day 1: Puppy
Relationships: Zack Fair & Angeal Hewley, Zack Fair & Cloud Strife, Zack Fair & Kunsel, Zack Fair/Sephiroth
Series: Zack Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938307
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55





	Zack, No!

**Author's Note:**

> This mostly contains silliness and occasional feels. I might have watched too many pictures of dogs before writing this. You have been warned!  
> Also, yes, Sirius Black was my favourite marauder.

The rainy season hit their troops with a vengeance; the tropical, muddy and humid woods in Wutai filled with alien fauna and flora proved as much of a danger as the enemy forces, ninjas and all. After having to trudge through the unexpected marshes – the charts they had been given were awfully inadequate, and they had no idea they were even on treacherous ground until one of the troopers in the advance guard was hip-depth in the gooey ground – Sephiroth took one look at the miserable bunch of their once-elite squad members and commanded them to make camp despite it being only mid-day. A couple moved to follow his order, one or two fell in a heap where they were standing, not caring about any possible insubordination charges coming their way in the future, the now and here too miserable to contemplate further ahead than where to score a cig or if the black-blue berries on nearby bushes were poisonous or perhaps a long-awaited success in the never-ending quest to make Shinra-issued field rations taste less like a cardboard shoe.

“Hey, Angeal, I think Thomas needs medical attention soon,” Zack said, jogging over to where his mentor and the General were standing on the edge of the clearing they had chosen as their campsite. “He’s convulsing so hard both Liam and Archie have to hold him down, and I’m pretty sure the bleeding from his mouth’s only from him biting his tongue, but I’ve copied most of medic stuff on our tests from Kunsel, so it could as well be a lung making an escape attempt through his mouth.” The teen was gesticulating wildly by the end, and ignoring his mentor’s death glare at the dishonest behaviour in favour of making his point. He had practice. “Whatever’s been in that swamp soup does not agree with him.”

Sephiroth mouthed after him, _swamp soup_? and looked to Angeal for hints on what the young SOLDIER was referring to.

“We have no medic on our team though, this was supposed to be a quick in and out,” Angeal, as Zack’s mentor, had more of a hold on his peculiarities and, more importantly, experience in sifting through his frequently overenthusiastic chatter. He magnanimously decided to let the cheating comment go for now, seeing as one of the man under their command required assistance they were ill-equipped to provide. “How is your Cura looking these days, Sephiroth?”

“Splendid, safely locked on a shelf in the Logistics Station jealously guarded by the new requisition officer,” the General drawled. “SOLDIERs are permitted to requisition no more than two materia at the same time, as I’m sure you are well aware. As our infiltration plan requires an ample use of fire and time, I have elected to bring those instead.”

Zack’s eyes grew in size with every word, until his face was a pantomime of two mako-blue saucers. “Someone told _you_... that you can’t take more stuff from the regs office?” His voice said that he was both in awe and fear of the new officer. “Um, sir,” he added hastily after throwing a cheeky smile Angeal’s way.

The dark-haired First swatted him over the head and turned to his friend. “I actually have an allotment of three, I believe,” he said apologetically. “To train him.” Angeal nodded, unnecessarily in Zack’s opinion (how many _other_ students did the man have?), towards the youngest SOLDIER.

Angeal grimaced. “I didn’t bring any heal either. Yours is better, and so I assumed you’d be bringing it. Are they really restricting the use of materia in the field missions so radically they wouldn’t let you bring in an additional healing materia?” A brief pause. “What am I saying, of course they would.”

“Blame Genesis. I do.” When faced with twin perplexed looks, Sephiroth explicated: “He attempted to smuggle out additional Bahamut summon and claimed it was barrier. Now it makes no difference if you prove that this particular materia could bring about the end of the war, if it’s not your primary or secondary choice, it stays where it is.”

“Useless. I fear to ask this, but Zack... did you by any chance leave behind your usual choices and brought heal instead?”

“Nope, sorry... I’m pretty much useless with it.”

Another glare greeted that statement. “I wonder why.”

“Ooh, I know!” Bouncing excitedly, Zack ignored Angeal’s heavy gaze with practice borne out of all the instances when he was put in charge of watering his mentor’s plants and invariably failed. What? It’s not like there were specific instructions to only pour water into the pot. Phew, who would have guessed though that Angeal could turn this particular shade of gray? Unflattering. “Angeal, the map shows there are ruins not far from here, remember I said before we left Midgar how cool it would be to explore them, and discover their hidden treasures and become heroes while saving the innocent inhabitants from deadly monsters? Well, maybe...”

“Let me interrupt you right there,” Angeal said, doing just so. He raised his hand as accessory help when it looked like the teen was going to barrel right over him in his excitement. That glow of excitement in mako eyes usually heralded a bloodbath in case of most SOLDIERs. When it came to Zack, it more often meant one harebrained scheme or another. Honestly, he would have preferred the bloodbath. Less clean-up after.

“But Angeal...” Oh Alexander, why couldn’t he have chosen a nice, simple and unadventurous student – one of many – instead of an actual puppy causing disaster wherever he went? Genesis was right, he’s not ready for teenagers.

“We are not going to the ruins. They’re likely to be unstable, and our charts are inaccurate at best; we could get lost in there for days. By that time the trooper in need may be beyond help, and our mission could be scratched as well. You need to think before acting, Zack!”

“But there could be potions there! We could help Thomas recover, Angeal!”

“I said no.”

Zack pouted at the frowning SOLDIER, aghast. He struggled to reconcile the image of his usually patient – if exasperated – friendly teacher with the man currently refusing to even listen to his ideas on how to save a good man’s life. The humid air of Wutai seemed to have cracked his control, but Zack couldn’t believe that this was what had been hiding underneath it all along.

Sephiroth raised a single silver eyebrow at the squaring off pair, amused. “Do you need me here for this?”

“Sorry, Sephiroth,” the other First replied. “Zack, we’re not going to the ruins, and that’s final.”

“There is no guarantee that gallivanting in unknown territory will yield the results you hope for. I agree with Angeal,” the General backed his friend up, and that was the end of this particular discussion thread.

Zack trudged off, unhappy, to offer his help to the men currently struggling to erect tents in the not-too-solid ground. Sephiroth waited for Angeal to say something to explain the strained conversation with his pupil.

“A word of advice, Sephiroth?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t go into mentoring.”

“And... there!” Exclaimed Derek, one of the two troopers positioned on the other side of the erected tent.

“Um, guys? A little help here?” The Second Class SOLDIER cajoled. He was lying splayed out on his chest on the ground, hands spread as far as they would go and holding the pegs, keeping them embedded on his side of the tent. He was the only thing standing between the General’s tent and utter collapse and he would not fail. Or well, lying. Miserably. In the mud. Out-manoeuvred by what amounted to two steel toothpicks. Angeal would be so proud, he groaned inwardly, face-planting into the ground.

There was a squelch. Yuck, was that mud in his hair?

“I don’t know, kid, you look kinda Zen there,” said Yelen as the two troopers came round the tent to help. Or state at his plight.

“Zack Fair, SOLDIER Second Class, on the job!” Zack raised his head and grinned manically. A muddy gloop slid down his cheek. There was a click of a camera on a PHS and Derek mock-gasped, hiding behind his colleague.

“A mud monster! Attacking General’s tent! What should we do? Oh, if only there was a valiant Second Class here to save us!”

“You guys suck,” the prone teen commented to the ground, attempting in vain to sweep back his hair while still keeping hold of the tent supports.

“Alas, he was felled! I knew him well,” Yelen dead-panned, brushing off a fake tear and snickering.

“Ahem. Maybe a First Class would do instead in your hour of need?” Came a slightly amused voice from behind them. Zack squeezed his eyes shut and face-planted back into the yielding ground. If he couldn’t see Angeal, then Angeal couldn’t see him.

“Commander, sir!” The two troopers saluted smartly, turning to face their officer. Traitors, the whole lot of them. Zack went to salute too (if he did it cheekily enough, maybe Angeal would be more lenient towards him?) but his hands wouldn’t move. Right, the pegs.

“At ease,” the older SOLDIER drawled, looking contemplatively down at his student.

Oh, but Zack could see him, even with his eyes closed. Angeal was no doubt standing with his feet slightly spread, steady as a mountain (how was that fair, making a slighter boy go and try to dislodge his stance and take him to the ground, unmovable as he was? Well, challenge accepted!) , and his arms crossed over the wide chest (good for hiding behind when Kunsel was looking for the one responsible (Zack) for spiking his drink with a cough syrup). He would have this slight frown on his forehead that usually spelled “Zack”.

Just his name, as Angeal was a man of few words, but geez, could he pack them with meaning. “Zack” usually translated into “Stop”, “no”, and “are you in jail? never mind, i don’t want to know. you broke in, you can well break out”.

Turns out breaking out of jail is considerably harder than breaking in, who would have guessed?

/ _“I did!”_

_“Then why did you come with?”_

_“It sounded like a good idea at a time?”_ /

He was in trouble.

Zack could feel a lot of crack-of-dawn drills coming his way in the near future.

“Zack.” Angeal’s voice was coming from right on top of him. Was he going to step on Zack? Did he have enough of him and decided to use this mission as a cover to get rid of him? The jungle would be an ideal place to hide a body.

Nah, Angeal wouldn’t do that. He loved having Zack around. Probably.

“Care to explain?”

The younger SOLDIER raised his head and peeked at Angeal. “A new skin-care routine?” He tried, smiling disarmingly (he hoped). A gloop detached itself from his hair and landed in his eye. Zack winced, but tried to keep eye contact with the bigger threat with his one good eye. He hated Angeal’s morning drills.

“Right,” his mentor drawled. “In your uniform?”

Another quicksilver grin. There was mud on his teeth now, too, the stuff was swallowing him whole! And Angeal was just standing there. Well, Zack would just have to rescue himself then. He was no helpless damsel in distress. Just a SOLDIER in mud.

“I thought you said I shouldn’t run around the corridors naked.” A blink. “Or is that allowed in camps?”

“No, no. Let’s keep your clothes... on. As often as we can.”

Why was he staring at Zack with such a weird expression? Did he have something on his face?

Other than the mud, that is.

“There is a stream nearby, go and get washed up.”

“Yes!” his student exclaimed in excitement, wriggling his butt to get his knees under it and stand up. “Um, Angeal?” He peered at his hands and gave the other man an imploring look. “A little help here?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed and muttered under his breath, “and he wanted me to let him and Kunsel go camping on their own.” Perching near the dirty dark head, he rammed the tent pegs into the ground, grabbed the relatively mud-free back of Zack’s uniform and stood up, hefting his student with him. He contemplated the young man dangling from his hand. He really did look like a puppy, trying to clean his face with dirty hands and only smudging it more, and blinking at Angeal from behind matted hair clinging to his face, as if he didn’t know what he had done now.

He let go, and Zack landed in the mud with a squelch and bounced in place as if he were a ball.

“Clean up, now. You two,” Angeal directed to the troopers loitering around and... were they making pictures? He felt he knew who’d be assigned to clean-up duty after supper tonight. “Go with him. We don’t want any more... incidents... to happen,” he finished, staring after Zack who was already skipping ahead and waving cheerily back at him.

The boy really was a perpetuum mobile powered by his own smile. What was Angeal going to do once it dimmed in this blasted war?

Perched on a convoluted branch of a massive tree nearby, Sephiroth who had attempted to get a feel of the land from a higher vantage point – their charts were either a clever sabotage or a clear negligence – watched in curiosity as a restless young SOLDIER wormed his way out of a punishment with naught but a bright smile.

He had never known Angeal to tolerate such antics, especially during missions where an undisciplined attitude could spell trouble. Angeal was fair but strict. Even Genesis couldn’t weasel his way out of getting scolded regularly for his flights of fancy. Who was Zack Fair?

Zack Fair, as the two troopers accompanying him to his bath soon discovered, was a menace.

As soon as he spotted the water – glittering in the sun still high in the sky, it was a rapid torrent so clear you just knew it had to be incredibly, testicle-retracting cold – the dark-haired SOLDIER whooped with joy and started running, losing his clothes on the way. He did an awkward hop on one leg, take your shoe off half-stumble, half jig and splashed headfirst into the freezing current.

“Holy motherof...” he shrieked and jumped up, yelling indiscernible profanities as he was reintroduced with the river. “So cold, my testes’ll never forgive me for this.” Shaking off the muddy water from his hair, he squinted into the stream, grinned fiercely and with a battle-cry, dove under, letting the swift current carry him.

And did not resurface.

Derek and Yelen stared after him, both blinking owlishly, and then looked uncertainly at each other. Surely a Second Class SOLDIER would be able to swim, right? No way did Shinra allow their elite unit to forgo such a basic skill. Just imagine, the great Sephiroth splashing inelegantly in the water and desperately dog-paddling to the shore... no, the PR department would commit a massive suicide.

The blasted boy was still submerged while unwelcome options flashed through the troopers’ minds, and they again looked at one another, this time assessing. Commander Hewley would have their heads if they let Fair drown. On the other hand, the water was bitingly cold. Who should...

Meanwhile, Zack kept trying to catch the indigo-hued fish that had sparked his curiosity – the chase was on! However, every time he nearly had it, fingers brushing the surprisingly soft scales, the slippery bastard made a sudden turn and, well, slipped right through his fingers. As capable of a swimmer as he was, he would soon have to admit defeat – there was already a familiar burn in his lungs, his chest feeling more hollow than advised without the air filling it up. The current was propelling him forward in a dizzyingly fast pace, and with the last burst of speed he lunged at his quarry. The rock came out of nowhere, and for a dizzying moment he couldn’t tell which way was up and down.

Choking on water that had swarmed into his mouth, he came up, disoriented and desperately gasping for breath, but blessedly alive. Their supper had swum away, and with it his chances of buying back into Angeal’s good graces (like all SOLDIERs, his mentor enjoyed food. Shinra field rations were not food. Ergo = Zack brings food, Zack is a hero. Hero Zack does not get replaced as apprentice. Even more importantly, hero Zack is spared morning drills.), but never fear, he would think of something, he coached himself as he regained his breath and planted both feet in the riverbed. The current kept storming him from behind, pushing at his back and, when he resisted, parting over him to rush by, and it took all his strength to stand against it.

Looking around he realised that he couldn’t see his companions (of course, dummy!) and he couldn’t hear the normal camp noises over the rushing of water – was there a waterfall nearby? That’d have been so cool! To jump off a waterfall, maybe make a contest of it... heh, Sephiroth would probably win, he’s the best at everything, but still...

Focus, Zack, he ordered his wayward mind, shaking his head to dispel all the usual distractions. He decided that by swimming to a bank he would most likely end up reaching the sea or something, so careful side-steps it was.

In seconds he was again splashing wildly and spluttering, coughing out the mouthful of water. Measured steps to solid ground was a no-go, then, he thought ruefully, wincing as he tried to keep both feet firmly planted – apparently the moment he raised one his balance was all shot, who’d have thought... Angeal would love this, he reckoned... probably tell him to take this opportunity to learn how to use your environment in a learning curve, or to never miss an opportunity to better yourself. At least he was thoroughly clean now, so his mentor wouldn’t be able to complain that he ignored his orders, again – in his defence, he tried to follow them (okay, okay, _usually_ tried to follow them – what? He got the job done, just with more fighting and excitement!), he just got sidetracked fairly (heh!) often.

Should he swim, then? If he rammed into another rock and got concussed, knowing his luck he would end up being babied by the entire squad and Angeal would ban him from taking any active role in the mission, and Sephiroth would save the day single-handedly, and everyone would forget that Zack had even been there. He would never get to become a hero this way.

Jaw set, he attempted the side-steps again, this time sliding his foot over the sandy bed. It worked, even if he was wobbling against the current now, and he nearly jumped to pump his fist in victory before remembering how detaching even one foot from the ground had ended the last time he’d tried it. He resolved to do his victory dance once he reached the bank.

When Zack at last crawled out of the water onto the solid ground, he collapsed and closed his eyes for a bit, resting. Then his eyes widened in awful realisation, for in front of his face was a familiar, muddy sight.

He was covered head to toe in mud, again.

“Well, when the opportunity presents itself,” he mused to himself, delighted. Naked as the day he was born (minus the mud war paint) and sporting a fiendish grin, Zack stalked through the woods to where (hopefully) the two unaware troopers were still waiting.

“What the fuck are we supposed to do now,” Derek muttered under his breath. They were both combing through the underbrush, uselessly if you really asked either of them – the teen had gone under in the water, they wouldn’t find him lying on the ground – but for lack of better options. Especially that one such option involved returning to camp and explaining to the kid’s mentor exactly what they had allowed to happen. If they were lucky he would have his broadsword on him, decapitate them both in one swing and that would be it. If not, he would probably strangle them with his bare hands while General Sephiroth watched, already planning how to complete the mission with two less troopers.

Yelen giggled, high-pitched. They were both spiralling. Fuck Shinra, maybe they should cut their losses, abandon the army and join a Wutaiian tree cult?

Those were a thing, right?

Suddenly there was a roar, and when Yelen turned around frantically, reaching for his weapon (stupid! how could they have left their rifles leaning against the trees, out of reach?) a brown projectile went sailing straight for his face. The force of the hit, if not the missile itself, for it splattered on impact, knocked him over.

The heck was going on here?

Derek tried to duck as another mud bomb headed their way, but all he managed was to save the bulk of his face and sacrifice his hair. Yelen was up again, only to get a dead centre hit in the chest.

There, amid the thick trees, stood Zack Fair in all his naked glory, resembling a swamp monster with all the mud on him and twigs and leaves tangled in his hair, as he grinned fiercely and pelleted them with mud.

Surprised as they both had been, Yelen and Derek did alright in organising their resistance, and soon they were answering Zack with mud volleys of their own.

“What the fuck is going on here?!”

The combatants froze, Zack with one hand still raised in preparation to throw. The mud plopped wetly as it hit the ground when his grip relaxed, and he tried to quirk a quick smile at Angeal but his face had abandoned him to his dreary fate. His mentor almost never cursed, certainly not in front of Zack – some misguided effort to shelter him, no doubt, although if he’d just asked him, he’d tell the man that it was way too late for that anyway.

Angeal’s scowl deepened when he surveyed the three miscreants he’d come to fetch when they’d failed to come back from a simple _bath_.

Zack winced. Right, not the time to protest about his adulthood.

The two troopers squeaked like a pair of mice and saluted (“when in doubt in front of the commanding officer...” was Shinra’s creed), although the effect was somewhat ruined by their pitiful appearance.

The Commander’s lips thinned as he broke the silence. “An hour ago you went to get one of you,” he glared at Zack, who sheepishly lowered his throw-ready hand, “cleaned up. Instead all three of you are dirty now, and one,” another pointed look, “of you is naked. Do I perhaps need to explain to you how baths _work_?!”

All three of them cowered as his voice raised at the end, before he reigned himself in. They were in enemy territory, still, and these _buffoons_ were behaving like unruly children. Good thing he wasn’t standing closer to any of them, or his hands might slip his control and wrap around a willing neck. _Of all the stupid..._ What had Zack been thinking?

Surveying his student’s sheepish look, he uncharitably decided on “nothing much” and his own expression hardened. Enough was enough.

“You two,” he ordered the troopers caught in the crossfire of Zack’s whirlwind personality. “Get cleaned up and make the uniforms at least somewhat presentable. I don’t care how; and make sure your weapons aren’t lying around carelessly, if I’d been the enemy you’d all have been dead.” When the two men hesitated, he added forcefully: “ _Away_ from here.”

They hastily saluted the First again and scrambled away, not daring to cast sympathetic looks at the young SOLDIER they were leaving behind. Some honour, Zack thought sourly before re-focusing on the more imminent issue.

Well, he amended his earlier thought as he looked at the vehement mentor looming over him, can’t really say that I blame them.

Sephiroth blinked owlishly as Angeal made another sharp turn in his pacing, muttering to himself nonsense words like “leash”, “retire”, “karma” and “grounded”. Perhaps his friend was looking to start a farm after he left SOLDIER? He ignored a pang this thought brought about and comforted himself that Shinra did not just let her SOLDIERs go.

Hi friend lengthened his stride. This space was inadequate for such exercise, the General thought but kept it to himself. Angeal was behaving strangely, but Sephiroth was unsure how to broach the topic. Perhaps he should let him know he can air his grievances to him.

“Do you wish to... discuss this?” He tried. His friend snorted and kept going, but after a moment visibly forced his agitated body to still.

“Ahh, Sephiroth...” Angeal looked at him with guilt, which perplexed the other man. Did something happen...? “Thank you. But I think if I start talking about it now, I will never stop.”

But apparently he did need to vent, because no sooner had those words left him, he was pacing again, but this time with commentary. Gaia, but Genesis would’ve had a field trip if he’d been here to see him like this. Small mercies.

“... and I can’t wrap my head around how irresponsible he is, it’s like goofing off is his only setting and I keep trying to break him out of it, Goddess knows I try, but it’s like everything I say goes in one ear and out the other as soon as my back is turned!”

“You are incensed with your pupil, then?”

“Yes!” Angeal exclaimed. “No! I don’t know.”

Sephiroth was thoroughly confused now, but decided to give Angeal time to sort his thoughts.

“I am worried,” the other man sighed. “He’s quite excellent in his sword and hand-to-hand training, and is good enough with materia, but his focus... he’d just wander off or, seek out monsters to fight because he’s bored. He’s going to get himself killed,” he concluded, clutching at his hair as he resumed pacing.

Sephiroth’s eyes on him were wary and watchful as he offered, uncertain, “It is not impossible to reassign a student. Should you need...”

“No,” Angeal shook his head in denial. “No. I don’t think... I don’t think it’d help. Or change anything at this point, anyway,” he added ruefully. “I’m in whether I like it or not.”

If Sephiroth wanted to ask why he had proceeded to complain at length if he hadn’t wanted anything to change, he was gracious enough not to mention it. He did however stare at Angeal as if he had grown a second head.

“Perhaps the maps weren’t as useless as Angeal said,” Zack mused as he peered at the crumbling dark stones scattered among the tree trunks. No doubt they had once formed intricate corridors of a mansion which sat squatting over the wooded land, now they were mere remnants fighting a losing battle against the encroaching forest, and even if the old building used to be a labyrinthine nightmare, now it wasn’t going to pose a challenge to navigate.

Hi picked a route at random, the thorny bushes snagging at his legs with each step he took, but he ignored it gamely and squinted as he followed a vague pattern to the centre. He stumbled and swore every couple steps, the dusk light proving treacherous even to the SOLDIER eyes. It seemed like every root or stone on this blasted path had a personal vendetta against his shins, and by the time he reached a clearing with a yellowed patch of grass, he felt like he’d fought a vicious war with an army of diminutive trolls.

He went to explore, looking under crumbling pillars, peering into little nooks and crannies, but to his disappointment he found nothing but dirt, crawling insects as long as his foot and large spiders who’d made home in places he thought could be abandoned secret stashes. The last one stung more than his adventurer’s pride.

Looks like he wouldn’t be returning to camp a hero with sorely needed potions. But he wasn’t going to give up, not so soon. He always figured something out, right?

He ignored the part of his brain that reminded him he hadn’t really had much occasion to prove that. After all, he hadn’t ever disproved that, either!

So, undeterred, he went to his knees and combed the terrain from a lower vantage point, determined not to miss anything of importance. Maybe he’d uncover maps with secret tunnels leading straight to Wutai’s capital and end the war single-handedly?

“Aha!” Zack pumped his fist excitedly, grinning wildly at a half-buried lever; it was rusted and appeared older than President Shinra, so it had to be important. The mechanism resisted as he pulled at it with all his enthusiastic strength, but a determined Zack Fair was a force to be reckoned with; he braced his feet against the ground, SOLDIER-issued boots sinking into the mud (why was this his life? oh well, surely Angeal would overlook the fact that Zack’s uniform was – again – not up to his exact standards when he returned triumphant with his rare finds?), and strained against the old device. Groaning, his arms bulging with effort, he felt something give in, and with a sudden _pop!_ he went sailing backwards. He blinked at the broken-off rod in his hand.

“No!” Exasperated, he threw it upwards, and watched as it disappeared into the darkened tree-branches. A startled bird gave off an incensed “wark” and with a rustle of leaves, flew off.

Sighing, he went to lean up on his elbows, but was interrupted mid-move when the ground around him groaned as if sucked in by a wide-jawed monster. It then disappeared from beneath Zack’s sprawled body, and following the gravity’s call, he fell with it.

He’d always liked falling; the weightlessness, the inertia taking hold of him as he jumped and sailed through the air. He could direct his jump, and to an extent control where he landed by contorting the right way mid-air, but the ground rushing up to meet him was the most exhilarating feeling in the whole world, the way he would speed up the closer he got to it was the greatest adrenaline hit he’d ever experienced.

This felt different; the fall wasn’t terribly long, but the pitch darkness rushing by his head seemed endless, and in the moments before he hit the rocky bottom, he feared he was the only man left alive.

The impact stole his breath for the second time that day, and he wondered at the ingenuity of whoever had come up with the saying “hit rock bottom”, for he had never felt a pain this intense and overwhelming. It was measureless, and he stared with unseeing eyes up at the dark tunnel he had fallen through. Soon, he would have to stand up, brush himself off and act as if he wasn’t a single blossoming bruise. Figure out where he’d ended up. For now, he would rest up.

“It’s no use,” Zack grumbled, secure in the knowledge that only some overgrown crawlies got to witness his sour mood. No human being but him for miles. Certainly not in the cavernous chamber he’d found himself trapped in. Trapped, like some green recruit, with no discernible way out but up. And up was daunting.

The walls were smooth stone, no jagged rocks to use as hand- and footholds, and he could barely make out the hole that was his escape route. Jumping up was out of the question, especially with how sore he felt; something shifted in his ribs when he attempted to take in a deeper breath, so shallow intakes was a way to go for a foreseeable future, and he was pretty sure his left ankle should not be wobbling right, of all directions, when he placed any weight on it.

Still, he guessed he’d been lucky, as there were no bones sticking out of him and his head was screwed on the right way on his neck.

Zack gave up on inspecting the upwards corridor and instead turned to his immediate surroundings. Now that his eyes had adapted to the shadows, he noticed that what he had first assumed to be a spacious dungeon was in fact a cave, long and winding. And with his breathing calmed, he could detect a faint whisper of running water. Hopefully it would lead him out – maybe an underground spring had a connection to the river he’d nearly drowned in earlier? That would be something – getting saved by the same thing that nearly downed him earlier! See, Angeal? He _so_ could take advantage of his surroundings!

Deciding to head left, he leaned on the jagged wall to keep the weight off the hurt ankle. His progress was slow and arduous, and he fell more than once. Each time it was harder to pick himself up, but he soldiered on. The shadow enveloped him and played tricks on his senses, and his not-really-but-maybe concussion seemed to be in on the joke; he swore he could hear scratches, once, and later a scattering of numerous tiny feet. A hiss, coming from his left. A gurgle, in the front. Low warble on the right, slightly in front... no, make that back.

But he pressed on, and amused himself with trying to remember the turns he’d taken. Left, right, left again, then straight ahead for a reaaaally long time (66 steps... give or take, he’d fallen down a couple times there... all right, give him a break, ok? he’s doing his best here!), then right once more... or was it left and then right? Never mind, not like he was planning on going back, geez. Unless he stumbled on some mountaineer gear, that would be useful.

He reached a corridor too low for him, but thankfully it didn’t seem overly narrow, if he crawled he should be able to push through. It was a tight fit, and his breathing grew heavy as he felt wet rocks pressing on him from both sides and from above at the same time. He couldn’t see in the pit darkness surrounding him and had to trust that the narrow path would soon end, and that he wouldn’t be stuck in this oppressive passage until he went mad. He cut his palm when he placed it on a viciously sharp little rock, and he decided to keep a hold of it. If he crawled headfirst into a monster in this total darkness, there was no way he would be able to take the sword off his back, not with the cave pressing down on him, but he guessed he’d be able to at least gauge out its eyes or something. Not that it would have much use for eyes in this chasm.

Eventually, it did end.

Before Zack stretched a high, wide cave, with numerous corridors coming in and out of it like a heart’s arteries. He could no longer hear the running water, but he comforted himself thinking that it was surely his arduous – but relieved – heartbeat and breathing that drowned out the sound he’d been following.

Or he’d lost the way. Gaia, he sure hoped he wouldn’t have to retrace his steps – not through that tight-fitting passage.

He explored the new cavern and tried a few of the passageways, but was hesitant to commit to any – the murmur of distant water was glaringly absent in the dead silence. All the paths he’d tried felt the same, and after returning from the last excursion to the main chamber, he sat leaning back against the wall and stared despondently at the foreboding hole. There was nothing to it, really. He couldn’t stay here, that would be giving up. But the thought of squirming like a worm, of the weight of the earth bearing down on him while the rocks scratched his arms, face and hands...

But a hero never stops. He shook off the morose notions and rose to face the daunting task. He could do this.

Zack had been walking for _ages_. Did these tunnels have no end at all? Was he going to wander the gloomy caverns till he died from lack of sun? Or would starvation get him first? He was already feeling a pang in his stomach, he hadn’t eaten anything since the rations in the morning... Oh, no! Were these tasteless rations going to be the last thing he’d ever eat?

Consumed by dreary thoughts, he at first missed the subtle sound; it had no place here, among the gloom and only insects to eat. A slight shuffling, maybe a giant snake? Could Zack eat that? What if it was poisonous, though? He’d been playing cards with Kunsel in the back during that particular lecture, how he regretted that now! Well, maybe if he tried a small bite and only got poisoned a little? Not perfect, but at least he would get something in his stomach that way.

Focusing more on the sound now and trying to limit the noises he’d been making himself, he frowned... it was getting closer now. And it sounded more like boots on stone rather than scales on stone, if he had to hazard a guess.

Finally someone he could fight! And maybe the mysterious stranger had a rope, too, or even the climbing boots. Granted, stealing another dude’s boots to make his escape wasn’t the glory he’d envisioned for himself when sneaking out of the camp earlier tonight, but Zack was getting hungry. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, Angeal would... maybe... appreciate his resourcefulness.

He pressed himself against the damp stones at his back and tried to become one with the wall; he still couldn’t see much, but he could hear the footsteps getting closer. Here come his boots!

He tensed and lunged with a battle cry at the approaching figure, only to find his arm twisted, his foot knocked out from under him and his face pressed tightly into the rocks on the opposite wall.

“You’re breathing louder than a dragon, I could hear you from all the way up top.”

“Angeal?”

“Yes. I assume you expected somebody else and that attack wasn’t meant for me, then? Or are you that annoyed with my lectures?”

“Angeal!” He turned around when his mentor released him and lunged at him in a classic bear-hug attack. He was easily fended off, blast the ankle for finally giving up on him.

“You do realise that the whole ruins discussion was spurred on by our inadequate healing supplies, right, pup? What for Goddess’ sake possessed you to go and get yourself hurt, too? This mission is already enough of a clusterfuck, without you adding to it.”

Zack winced, partly because he’d brought Angeal to swearing once again (twice in one day, too) and that spelled trouble for him big time, but mostly because now that he’d been rescued (not that he’d ever needed rescuing, mind you) his battered body started giving off signals of where he hurt, which seemed to be _everywhere_.

Angeal, prepared as ever, had brought a flashlight, and Zack let him prod and move his limbs as he checked him over for serious injuries.

“You’ve more luck than sense, Zack,” he concluded as he stood up and offered his student a hand. He heaved him up and steadied him as they moved towards the fissure through which Zack had fallen earlier. “Nothing that won’t heal up overnight, thank the mako.”

With Zack clinging to Angeal’s back like an overgrown monkey, they climbed up the rope the older man had left hanging from one of the trees near the precipice.

Zack wriggled off his mentor and stretched his sore muscles, breathing in the fresh air. The woods around him were awash with night life, a bird of prey hooting in the distance and leaves rustling. It was a welcome change after the oppressive mood down below. He turned to Angeal, smile freezing when he noticed a deep scowl directed at him.

“You outdid yourself today, Zack.” The First’s voice rumbled as he scrutinised him. “You disregarded direct orders, played around like a child, involved others in your antics, and acted without thinking, endangering both yourself and the mission! If you want to be a SOLDIER, you need to start acting like one, and take responsibility for your actions! Acting like a puppy may seem cute back in Midgar, but in case you’ve missed it, we’re at war here, and I can’t take you with me on missions if I can’t trust you not to put yourself and your men in unnecessary danger – and you’ve proved today that you can’t be trusted, Zack!”

With every word spoken, Zack kept cringing and by the end of the tirade he felt smaller than ever. He opened his mouth to apologise, but he could see, from the look on Angeal’s face, that it wouldn’t be welcome. Not yet, anyway.

Lips turned down in disappointment, his mentor (hopefully still?) turned away and waved at Zack to follow. He trotted up after Angeal, and caught him mutter to himself: “At least if he’d been an actual puppy, I could put a leash on him and be sure he was where he was supposed to be for once in his life.”

“Huh?” Zack tilted his head questioningly. Was he supposed to hear that?

Neither mentor nor student stumbled into another hole in the earth, for it was behind the ruins they had failed to investigate fully; its ridges were covered in thick moss, and it was surrounded by broad trunks so densely that their foliage formed a crown over the crevice that no light could penetrate. You could hear a faint murmur of a creek running under the ground where once stood an old mansion of a great lord.

If the unfortunate dead could speak, they would tell the unwary travellers: Careful what you wish for.

But that was just whimsical talk, wasn’t it?

The new day dawned bright and humid, just like all the rest before it. Archie, a trooper who’d had a misfortune of being the last one on watch duty, started doing his rounds raising the others... though to be fair, from what he heard, the first watchman of the night had had it far worse, this time; Commander Hewley had not been pleased when he’d found out his student had sneaked out during the night, and when he’d returned with Zack in tow, his mood had been even blacker.

Deciding to spare the energetic young SOLDIER having to be woken up by an angry First – Archie reckoned no one wanted that to be a first thing you see in the morning – he headed towards the one-man tent Zack had been gifted when everyone realised he tended to talk in his sleep.

“Zack?” He called to the teen, and when there was no reply, zipped down the entrance with a loud warning: “It’s Archie, time to get up!” Still nothing. “I’m coming in, you better not be jerking off in there!”

He went in and for a long moment stared, uncomprehending, at what he saw lounging on top of Zack’s sleeping bag. He must’ve been poisoned, that was it, somebody had slipped something in his food last night... He rubbed at his eyes and decided that no, he really should have left the task of waking Zack up to his mentor; now Archie would have to explain to an already-irate Commander that Zack was missing, and whoever took him had left a dog in his place.

“At least it’s a rather handsome creature,” Sephiroth attempted to console his bewildered friend. “Although it appears to be shedding quite a bit. I’m unfamiliar with dogs; do you believe it a sign of poor health?”

Angeal didn’t appear to have heard him. He was crouched down in front of the dog and engaged in an intense staring contest with it.

It really was a rather handsome dog; young and looking slightly coltish on big paws that it had yet to fully grown into, black-and-white silky fur, a long tail that hadn’t stopped wagging once since it saw Sephiroth and Angeal, two erect black ears that turned towards the two men like flowers to the sun and were twitching in barely-leashed excitement – the dog’s first reaction upon being woken up by Angeal was to leap and glomp the surprised man, licking his face as if Angeal was its long-lost master. It had taken them both a while to disentangle the happy beast from him, the dog was rather agile and knew how to use its four limbs to its advantage.

Sephiroth was already strategising how to update their mission outline to allow for the dog’s abilities in their task, and to counter for possible disadvantages that might present themselves.

He also may or may not have been slightly jealous of the easy affection bestowed on his friend. It appeared so uncomplicated and unconditional. Not unlike...

Sephiroth froze with a sudden realisation, and his gaze focused on the dog’s blue eyes. Eerie blue eyes. Almost like...

“He has mako eyes, Sephiroth. Why would a dog have SOLDIER’s eyes?” Angeal giggled hysterically as he apparently reached the same conclusion as Sephiroth. The silver-haired man allowed for his companion’s strange behaviour – it was not every day that you discovered your student had transformed into a puppy overnight.

“Zack?”

The dog barked and turned on his belly, all four legs wriggling in the air, tongue lolled out as he begged for a belly rub.

Still in shock, Angeal obliged and Zack whimpered happily.

Angeal moved in a dream-like state for the rest of the morning. He supposed he must have eaten something at some point. He couldn’t remember. The glade in which they’d camped was cleared out by the troopers. Derek, Yelen and Archie were playing fetch with Zack. The dog barked happily and launched himself like a cannonball after the stick. Not unlike Zack.

Zack. Who was a dog now.

Well, a puppy really. Just like he’d wished. Angeal felt another insane giggle crawling up his throat and he stifled the instinct with force.

Sephiroth was sitting crossed-legged in the grass and scrolling on his PHS. The image did not compute in Angeal’s mind and he blinked. Zack was a dog and Sephiroth was acting like a truant teenager playing games.

“What are you doing?”

“Research,” the General replied absent-mindedly, gaze locked on the screen as he typed something and kept scrolling.

“Ahh,” Angeal said as if that made perfect sense. Nothing did, really. “On your PHS?”

Sephiroth nodded, made a pleased humming noise as he titled his head, considering. He then thrust his screen in Angeal’s face. “There. I am pretty convinced that is Zack’s breed. There is also a description on how to properly take care of him.”

He was a border collie! Granted, the words didn’t mean much to Zack, but they seemed to please the two humans that Zack liked best... the one with really big hands that were made for petting his fur and belly rubs, and the one with long fur that gleamed in the sun just _so_ and was long and perfect for playing with... he wanted to lick clean this human’s fur so badly!... so Zack figured they must be a good thing.

Ooh, there was a very nice stick. He grabbed it – it was big, but he was a good boy and managed – and went in search of the other humans that liked playing with him. Maybe he could make them chase him!

Introduction of Zack the dog into their standard schedule was already disrupting everything. Sephiroth did not seem to be concerned and instead kept studying intensely how dog owners behaved. Which in itself was such a deviation from the norm that really, the troopers disregarding their usual marching out time and flocking to the dog happily frolicking in the grass barely deserved a mention. They were jostling each other for a best petting position near the dog’s – _Zack’s_ – head that Angeal feared he would have to break up fights soon. However, Zack seemed to be of a mind that there was enough of him to go around and shamelessly rolled around, indicating where he wanted their hands (apparently all of them), tongue lolled out in a blissful expression.

And he was no better, he scolded himself for being unable to stop looking fondly at the puppy happily playing around.

“Zack! Heel!” Angeal called and winced at how... easy it was to start referring to his student in dog terms. But then again, Zack had always resembled an excited puppy in human skin. Maybe the shift wouldn’t be so bad. And they would get him back to normal, Angeal consoled himself at his perceived treachery of abandoning Zack to his fate.

Zack liked his fate pretty well at the moment though – so much attention and praise, he was _so_ lucky!, and after raising a canine head to look towards Angeal, promptly flopped down again and proceeded to ignore him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the SOLDIER approached Zack and his gaggle of fans.

“Pup, up!” He commanded and waved at the troopers to scatter. They hesitated. Great, now the dog’s – _Zack’s_ – disobedience was infectious.

Some even clutched the white-and-black fur as if only a great force would detach them from the dog. Angeal rose an eyebrow at those – he had a considerably great force at his disposal, and while he never used it on any man under his command, he was still their commanding officer and would not stand for this disorder.

Reluctantly, they let go and started to gather up. Zack barked and crouched in front of him, butt wriggling as he playfully showed his teeth. When Angeal moved his hand to take him by a scruff of his neck, he pranced away, barked once again and made it known he wanted to be chased, tauntingly running up to him and then dashing away.

He was not going to give in.

He had given in. Apparently all Zack had needed to do was run up and butt his head into Angeal’s hands, and he was putty in those overgrown paws. Add in a forlorn hopeful look and a whimper?

His reputation with the troopers would never recover.

Finally, they gathered themselves up enough to head out. It was mid-day already, and they were going to be terribly behind schedule. At least the delayed departure had allowed the ailing trooper to somewhat recover and he could move on his own now, even if he still required to lean against his squad mates more often than not.

That is how they would justify it in their reports.

A disgusted squawk disturbed the calm of their last preparations. Everyone stared at General Sephiroth, Demon of Wutai, Shinra’s most famed SOLDIER and an indomitable force in his own right hopping up and down on one foot while hastily taking the boot off the other mid-air.

The reason for this unprecedented behaviour became clear once the boot fell off; a distinctive yellow liquid dripped out of the abandoned item.

Green eyes narrowed, Sephiroth stalked towards the culprit; swift, purposeful strides, long coat billowing behind him in tandem with his silver hair, he would have made a terrifying sight if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was wearing only one of his long leather boots.

Still, no one dared to snicker as he loomed over Zack who was lying down in a sunny spot, tail waggling and ears pricked in alert when he spotted the man approaching him. Was it play time again? Or maybe time for a walk? Zack wanted to explore all the wonderful smells in the woods!

Angeal intercepted Sephiroth with a hand on his shoulder, worried his friend may miscalculate his strength and hurt the dog. The other man shook his hand off, raised a threatening finger and said concisely but forcefully:

“Bad dog!”

Ears laid flat, Zack did not understand the words but knew by the tone that they were bad things. He peered up at Sephiroth and crawled away from the frustrated man, instinct warning him to stay away from the leashed temper of the man before him.

“Zack, stay!” Angeal ordered and kneeled down. “No more playing around. Behave!” He scolded and turned to his friend. “We will finish up clearing the camp, you have time to go wash up in the stream nearby if you want,” he offered.

Sephiroth nodded and left, wondering if he had said the right thing. The research he’d done indicated that you needed to set clear boundaries with your dog and be firm and strict when setting them.

But the sight of the friendly dog, one he had witnessed playing to his heart’s content with everyone in the camp, backing away from him tugged at something long-forgotten in his heart.

When Sephiroth returned to the campsite, he found it vacant save for a solitary trooper standing guard.

“Sir!” He saluted. “Commander Hewley wanted to let you know that everything has been made ready for our departure, sir!”

“At ease.” A pause. “Where is everyone then?”

“Err... they’re looking for Zack.” At Sephiroth’s questioning look, he elaborated. “He disappeared shortly after you’d left. Um, sir.”

“I see.” He did. The dog had been content to stay with them at camp before he snapped at him. He miscalculated, again, did not know how to speak to men, did not know how to speak to animals either. Everywhere he turned, he blundered, like a misaligned piece of a puzzle. And now their companion was missing. But he could do something about that. He did not know how to speak to be understood, did not know how to read emotions and reactions, but what he _could_ do was track down their dog.

“You will remain here, notify us if he returns. I will join the search.” He did not wait for the trooper – Thomas – to reply before turning and striding back into the forest.

With eyes shut, he strained his hearing, trying to isolate all the usual sounds of the forest and locate the one he strived to follow. It proved more ardours than anticipated. Either Zack had learnt the advantages of stealth in his new form, or he had been upset enough to wander further away than was advisable in the wild, beyond reach of Sephiroth’s senses.

He had read that his breed prided itself on great stamina, and the addition of mako surely only compounded on it.

In the end, Sephiroth stumbled on Zack by utter accident. He had chosen a path at random, moving swiftly but noiselessly to not spook the dog in case he was near. He’d been walking for close to an hour, moving in increasing circles from the focal point where he’d started. He supposed his relatively silent approach was the reason why he was the one who found him, lying in the underbrush chewing on a large branch with enthusiasm. He could not imagine that Zack would not have preferred to be recovered by Angeal or one of the troopers.

Still, Sephiroth was the one who was here. He knelt down where he stood and wondered how best to approach without frightening him. Their last interaction had not been promising.

To his eternal surprise, he did not have to. The dog did it for him, dragging the sizeable branch with him. He abandoned it at Sephiroth’s feet and butted a white-and-black head against his thigh. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and buried it in the thick fur. It was warm to the touch and he kept it there, not wanting to disturb the animal who trusted him not to cause harm.

He had once had the same hand buried in a living being’s guts, had it torn out a still beating heart.

They returned together, Zack sometimes trotting next to him, sometimes diving sideways when he spotted something that caught his wandering attention. But always, he returned to Sephiroth’s side.

They entered the campsite to find it bursting with life and energy again. Zack barked and ran to Angeal to rub against his leg with enough energy to almost knock the other First over. Sephiroth suspected that it was relief that made Angeal’s knees more susceptible to bending; he knew from experience how sure-footed his friend was.

But then, he trotted back to his side, knocking into a hand hanging by Sephiroth’s side and looking at him with big blue eyes. Haltingly, he rose it and scratched behind an offered ear. Zack panted with pleasure so evident that even Sephiroth recognised it for what it was. No missteps this time.

Making an executive decision, he indicated to Angeal to follow him to the edge of the clearing where they could talk in relative privacy. Zack followed them happily, squeezing himself to stay in-between them. His tail never stopped moving.

“I believe we should scratch the mission.”

A pause. And then Angeal sighed. Relieved?

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I don’t know if we’d be able to carry it out successfully with him like this. Or to keep him safe.” And leaving him behind somewhere to wait for their return was out of the question, not in enemy territory. Not when it was possible they would be compromised and never returned.

The thought of the forgiving dog waiting for them in vain made his chest ache in ways that had nothing to do with Hojo cutting him open on the lab table. It was a foreign pang, but one he felt was there to stay, buried under the ribs.

“But I think we should still move out,” Angeal added in afterthought. “Staying long in one place in Wutai has never ended well.”

“Or we should investigate the terrain better. It could have been something strictly connected to this place that caused the transformation.”

“Let’s move the camp from here – go east, if the charts aren’t lying again there should be another clearing not far from here, and later return to investigate, then? It’s getting late either way, we wouldn’t have made it far before dusk.”

“And we have tarried here long enough,” Sephiroth agreed. “Very well, then.”

At first they made good time. But after no more than half an hour of Zack wandering from one party member to another, nudging them for pets and to throw him a stick, and bothering Sephiroth to scratch him behind the ear (his long fingers were the best for it!), he started to lag behind before plopping down. It took them a minute to notice their four-legged companion was not with them – he’d been taking detours into the forest to investigate every so often – and they backtracked to tempt him forward with kind words.

It didn’t work; he stubbornly stayed laying on the ground and looked at them with sad puppy dog eyes, no matter how much they cajoled him.

Exasperated – honestly, he’d been weak to Zack’s puppy eyes when he was a human, why was he surprised they were even more weaponised now that he was an _actual_ puppy? – Angeal decided they were losing time, again, bent down and picked the pup up. With a wriggling armful and troopers staring after him with both awe and envy, he marched away. Everyone else soon followed.

Angeal soon found out that carrying Zack in his arms – while having its rewards, with his fast-beating heart so close to his own chest and a wet nose poking him curiously in the neck and trying to wedge itself under his armpits – came with its own set of problems.

No, he wasn’t too heavy. No, it wasn’t uncomfortable. No, if they were attacked, he would manage to deposit him on the ground and reach his sword in time to fend it off. No, he was not too warm, either!

These and many other questions had to be fended off from the men suddenly crowding way too close to Angeal as he kept marching. Each and every one of them was followed by a gracious offer to take the burden off his hands.

He managed to keep a calm veneer, but he could feel one eye beginning to twitch in annoyance. He was no Sephiroth, but he did appreciate to have _some_ personal space. As it was, if they indeed were attacked and he was forced to swing a sword, his biggest obstacle would not be the dog currently slumbering in his arms, but all the troopers literally stepping on his heels.

He turned to Sephiroth and, to his astonishment, found him not at Masamune’s length – the usual distance Sephiroth preferred to keep between himself and everyone else – but walking right next to him, a hesitant hand offered for Zack to be licked.

Fearing he may have been transported into an alternative reality where nothing made sense, Angeal quickened his pace to get away from the throng of men trailing after him, the sound of Zack’s happy panting in his ear at the burst of speed the least weird thing currently happening to him.

Feeling smug and not entirely sure as to why but not really caring – he supposed he should feel guilt instead, but emotions had never been his strong suit, there was no reason to stop and consider those particular ones now – Sephiroth ignored Angeal’s stunned look at being ordered by the General to relinquish the dog and hand him over to Sephiroth and improved his grip on the warm body in his arms. Zack squirmed a little but when he found a position that suited his comfort, he quieted down and rested his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder.

They marched on, the forlorn troopers presenting a particularly dejected picture as they trudged on after the First Class SOLDIERs and their dog.

Nights in Wutai were never particularly less humid than days, and Sephiroth had long made it his habit to sleep with his chest bare anyway, wherever he happened to be. This particular night he happened to be extra warm. When his mind fully woke, he was bewildered to find a black-and-white body stretched out next to his, a soft huffing breath disturbing Sephiroth’s hair. He frowned at Zack, wondering why he hadn’t woken up when the dog crawled next to him – for they certainly hadn’t fallen asleep like that, in fact Zack had been sleeping in Angeal’s tent when Sephiroth himself had turned in – and what had caused his usually dependable, alert senses to disregard the dog as a possible threat.

His staring must have woken Zack up, because he then had to turn his face away from an enthusiastic licking. Undeterred, the dog switched his attention to Sephiroth’s hair, his wide long tongue laving it thoroughly with canine saliva.

Slightly disgusted, but also willing to allow the attentions to keep by his side the living, breathing creature that accepted him without demanding he express himself with appropriate words, whose moods and emotions were easily discernible _even to him_ , and who was happy at the mere sight of Sephiroth, he turned around again to face his companion for the night, wrapped an arm against Zack, trapping a whining head against his bare chest. He felt a warm tongue lick it experimentally, and they both drifted off to sleep.

Zack blinked, feeling disoriented and like he was missing a limb or two. There was a strong arm wrapped around his back, holding him pressed closely to a well-defined, slightly cool chest. The skin under his feverish cheek felt good to the touch, and he nuzzled sleepily into it as his fingers drew a downwards pattern starting at the man’s pecs. Zack was naked, but it didn’t bother him, and he didn’t remember getting into bed with anyone (surely a masochist, with a mattress this hard they could as well be lying on the hard ground), but that was alright too. If his recollection of the night with this man did not return, well, surely he wouldn’t be opposed to making some new memories?

The chest in front of him looked so inviting that he couldn’t resist giving a nipple a teasing little lick, and when the body under his shivered, responsive, he grinned wildly and latched on to suck on it with gusto.

Which was when two things happened that absolutely ruined his morning-after peace.

First, Angeal entered the tent and swore colourfully at them (Zack’s presence had clearly loosened his mentor up, when they’d first met he would never have said that). And second, the body he was clinging to tensed as it woke fully, a strong hand fisted in his hair and threw him bodily across the tent.

His shock at seeing long silver hair spread over a sleeping bag was soon overcome by a weight landing on top of him.

And no, it was not General Sephiroth, First Class SOLDIER, jumping Zack’s bones in sudden ardour. It wasn’t even Angeal pummelling him for getting into these kind of situations. No, it was a weight of a poorly-constructed tent (the troopers really had been despondent the night before) landing on top of his head.

“You’re jerking me around.” Cloud looked with accusation and disbelief at a devil-may-care smile on his best friend’s face. The grin impossibly widened. His face was really going to get stuck like this one of these days. Like he’d been sucking on a banana and got it wedged sideways instead. (Cloud had seen him do it once, too.)

“Nope! Totally happened. Angeal couldn’t look at me without trying to throttle me for a month after! And you should’ve heard the speech he gave Seph, it had everything in it; honour, taking advantage of my impressionable young age, military ranks, their friendship,” Zack grinned again, and Cloud knew Angeal Hewley had it backwards; Zack hadn’t been impressionable a day in his life, and he was a terror who pushed through everything to achieve what he’d set out to do.

Case in point, he was the only man alive who was stubborn enough to doggedly pursue and badger Sephiroth into a relationship, and like a dog with a bone, to keep it from fragmenting and ending for years now despite all the shitshow that was Shinra on a daily basis.

In fact, if Cloud had to guess as to who was impressionable between the pair, he would sooner go with Sephiroth. Angeal should’ve been giving his speech to Zack instead.

“So... how did you get your body back, anyway?” He asked, still not believing a word this loon was saying but indulging him for now.

“Well... Angeal did wish for me to be somewhere I was supposed to be, and there I was, myself again, right in Seph’s arms,” Zack winked saucily at Cloud, who had an overwhelming urge to hit him over the thick head with a rolled-up newspaper. His friend was ridiculous.

“You’re pulling my leg.”

“Am I? Well, to be fair, you will never know... Anyway, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.” He pulled out a piece of viciously sharp rock from his pocket and waved it in Cloud’s face. The blonde’s eyes tracked it warily, and he pushed slightly away from the maniac sitting across from him. “I really should have turned it in to the Science Department, regulations, blah blah, but it’s the most unusual materia I’ve ever seen. What do you say, wanna go outside the city for a couple days and test it out in the middle of nowhere? Just you and me, eh?”

Cloud was about to say no, that he had duties and couldn’t just run away with him. But looking at Zack’s smiling face, he knew he’d eventually give in. Really, it was better to save himself the breath and go along with his schemes from the start. He always wavered anyway, unable – but also unwilling – to go against Zack’s force of nature personality.

Three days later, as he had a lapful of an overenthusiastic black-and-white dog licking at his face, he heartily regretted not running for the hills this one time. With their experimental materia shattered into pieces on the ground beside their sprawled forms, Cloud had no idea how to fix this.

Or how to explain to General Sephiroth that his boyfriend was now a dog.

Maybe they should play fetch for a while longer. Weeks longer, preferably.


End file.
